Stay ConnectedTwo sisters, one in L.A. and one in NYC, both move to the Chicago area and start a podcast. The premise? Picture books and are they really that great? Join Kate and Fuse 8 (Betsy Bird) as they track down a picture book “classic” each episode and try to determine if it deserves to remain in the canon of children’s literature.
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Kate gave Betsy a tricky challenge this week. She wanted her to find a book worth discussing that was pertinent to the times in which we live. So, after a great deal of soul searching, Betsy decided to focus on a book by a Black author. Even better, a book that was ahead of its time when it came out and may only find its true audience today. And few books for kids tackle the issue of police brutality as honestly as this one does. Reprinted two years ago, James Baldwin's 1976 title (the only book for children he ever made) feels both timeless and in desperate need of a new illustrator. Show Notes: The book Betsy alludes to at the start is Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature, edited by Julia L. Mickenberg and Philip Nel: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2009/02/16/review-of-the-day-tales-for-little-rebels-by-julie-l-mickenberg-and-philip-nel/ If you want additional information on Little Man, Little Man, Betsy wrote about it at length here: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/05/17/a-childs-story-for-adults-digging-deep-into-james-baldwins-only-childrens-book/ Please consider listening to other episodes of this podcast featuring Black creators including: The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring - http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2019/03/25/fuse-8-n-kate-the-boy-who-didnt-believe-in-spring-by-lucille-clifton-ill-brinton-turkle/ Mirandy and Brother Wind - http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/05/11/fuse-8-n-kate-mirandy-and-brother-wind-by-patricia-mckissack-and-jerry-pinkney/ Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters - http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2017/08/08/new-fuse-8-n-kate-episode-mufaros-beautiful-daughters-by-john-steptoe/ Sam and the Tigers - http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/02/26/fuse-8-n-kate-the-story-of-little-black-sambo-by-helen-bannerman/ Stevie - http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2019/07/15/fuse-8-n-kate-stevie-by-john-steptoe/ Why Do Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears? - http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2017/11/20/fuse-8-n-kate-why-mosquitoes-buzz-in-peoples-ears/ For the full Show Notes please visit us at http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/06/08/fuse-8-n-kate-little-man-little-man-by-james-baldwin-ill-yoran-cazac/
For whatever reason, Kate and Betsy spoke for a whopping 45 minutes about today's book. Somehow, Kate (who is our editor on all this) cut it down to mere 28 minutes, which is a feat worth remarking. The sisters tackle whether or not "Helen Palmer" was or was not Dr. Seuss (the answer is far more complicated than you might think). They delve into what kind of reputation Mr. Carp must have to be on the watch list of both the police and the firemen. And now they have to research when fluoride entered the drinking water and when chlorine entered the public pools. It's important! Show Notes: - As we now know, in its original incarnation, this story began its life as Gustav the Goldfish by Dr. Seuss (originally appearing in Redbook magazine in June 1950). It only became A Fish Out of Water when Seuss's wife Helen adapted it to the easy book format. - Our recent episode about The Cow That Sneezed caused our listener Christine to write in, "Listening to this episode reminded me of Stand Back," Said the Elephant, “I’m Going to Sneeze!” Think I’ll go read it." Here is the link: http://readingtokids.org/Books/BookView.php?pag=5&bookID=00001169 - And here's the Ninja Warrior squirrel video that Kate and Betsy were both obsessed with this week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZFjoX2cGg For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/06/01/fuse-8-n-kate-a-fish-out-of-water-by-helen-palmer-ill-p-d-eastman
Kate and Betsy haven't done a cult classic picture book in a while. Really, the ultimate compliment any book can receive from its fans is that their love allows it to see life once more, decades after publication. This was one of the rare titles from the 1950s republished by the publisher Enchanted Lion. Betsy has always been a big fan of this book, but as we have learned time and time again, just because she likes something, that is NO indication that Kate will as well. Show Notes: Here is the link to the James Flora archives in the Kerlan Collection, should you wish to see them firsthand: https://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/4/resources/5433 Curious about Flora's album cover art? You can see a whole slew of it here: https://www.jimflora.com/galleries/flora-classic-album-covers/ And if, by any chance you're interested in seeing Betsy's library's community cookbook, you can find the link here: https://inkie.pressbooks.pub/cozyevanstoncookbook/ For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/05/25/fuse-8-n-kate-the-day-the-cow-sneezed-by-james-flora/
Today's 1981 classic turned out to be a surprise to Kate. She, like many people in America, had no idea that Jumanji was a picture book before it was a movie (or two, or three). Thanks to her read, a lot of questions about this book were cleared up. For example, there is the fact that the parents must be going to a matinee (which explains why the kids eat dinner after their return later). And did you know that the two kids at the end of this book are the ones in the sequel Zathura? But here's the crazy thing. Kate actually managed to find a continuity error in the art. Don't believe us? Check it out. For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/05/18/fuse-8-n-kate-jumanji-by-chris-van-allsburg/
"I'm giving myself extra points for doing this springy book in spring . . . which I did not realize until this moment. Patting on the backy of me!" Prior to today's episode the only Jerry Pinkney title Betsy and Kate had done on the podcast was Sam and the Tigers (as part of their Little Black Sambo round-up). As for Ms. Patricia McKissack, they'd never even done a single one of her books to date. Consider this a wrong now righted. This episode taught us about how folks change picture books to make them readable as ebooks. As for the plot of the story, no one ever talks about the book's traumatized chickens or the fact that you never get to see the cake Mirandy wins. Get ready for an extra deep dive into a book that is still a favorite of teachers nationwide. Show Notes: Initially the cakewalk was created to mock white slaveholders to their faces. They would judge the first cakewalks and have no idea the slaves were mocking them. There's an interesting article about it here at Face2Face Africa: https://face2faceafrica.com/article/how-the-popular-cakewalk-dance-was-actually-a-mockery-of-white-slave-masters-in-the-1800s Want to play Scattergories with your own distant family for a virtual game night? Here is the site Kate found. We can attest that we tried this after we recorded this podcast and it worked very well! https://swellgarfo.com/scattergories/ If you would like to read our mother's poem Geomagnetic Reversal and My Mother’s Ethnoid Bone you'll locate it as the fourth link on this page. https://www.escapeintolife.com/poetry/mothers-day-2020-mothers-moleskine/ For the complete show notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/05/11/fuse-8-n-kate-mirandy-and-brother-wind-by-patricia-mckissack-and-jerry-pinkney/
Because it was recently Betsy's birthday, she got to choose a book that was her favorite when she was growing up. And let us say this about Tasha Tudor. The Queen of England herself is second only to Tasha Tudor in terms of corgi love. Tasha was the original corgi lover. The sisters spend a great deal of time trying to explain some of the oddities of the book by saying, "It's New England!" Like it helps or something. The best way to put it is that this book is 70s/1870s. Show Notes: If you ever care to show up at the Tasha Tudor website, it's a real class act: https://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/ Is Betsy the only one who makes this association when she sees a monk marionette? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK19zONpd04 For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/05/04/fuse-8-n-kate-a-time-to-keep-by-tasha-tudor/
Seems to us that bats are shouldering a great deal of the blame for our current COVID-19 crisis. Considering the fact that their P.R. wasn't all that great to begin with(Batman aside), Betsy decided this week's episode would combat this problem with the most famous bat-related picture book in America. It doesn't hurt matters any that this entire episode is pretty much just an excuse for her to post cute videos of baby fruit bats in the Show Notes. Show Notes: Betsy mentions that her falcons are currently nesting on her library building right now. Here they are on the live cam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hOZ0BMx12Y Care to be pandered to? Here's the video of the juvenile fruit bat being petted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVz8rvIl_vY And here is a video of a baby fruit bat eating a banana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaPXhYaFReY\u0026t=28s The book came in at #71 on the Top 100 Picture Books Poll. http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/05/21/top-100-picture-books-71-stellaluna-by-janell-cannon/ For the rest of the Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/04/20/fuse-8-n-kate-stellaluna-by-janell-cannon/
True Fact: The longest book written in the English language is the easy book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss. Other True Fact: That first fact is untrue, but it's certainly what Kate believed in her heart when she finished reading that book during this recording. While many people remember all too well the title of today's book, its plot (such as it is) remains, for many, a mystery. Kate certainly didn't know what to expect and, to be fair, how could she have? Can anyone truly predict Clark or the Ying or Ned? Sweet sweet Ned? We think not. Show Notes: One image in this book was once parodied when Betsy made a post challenging artists to Re-Seussify Seuss. Which is to say, re-illustrate a Dr. Seuss work in the style of another illustrator. And Nathan Hale (of Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales) decided to take on "yellow teeth guy" (as Kate calls him) in the style of Stephen Gammell. You know. The fellow who illustrated Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. And the result is beautiful. Go here and scroll to the bottom: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/03/01/re-seussification-project-the-results/ Here is a video of famous novelists Kevin O'Leary, Ami McKay, and Erin Morgenstern reading this book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0waeG_x2eow Here is the article we were told about in this episode (in reference to Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith)called, "Created during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, Jingle Dresses are once again offering inspiration, healing" - https://nativenewsonline.net/entertainment/created-during-the-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic-jingle-dresses-are-once-again-offering-inspiration-healing/ For more Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/04/13/fuse-8-n-kate-one-fish-two-fish-red-fish-blue-fish-by-dr-seuss/
In honor of Tomie dePaola, who left us last week, Betsy wanted to do one of his possible classics. The show had already done Strega Nona, but one other book might qualify for "classic" status. Trouble was, all the libraries are closed and Betsy couldn't get a physical copy of this book. Happily, Overdrive offered this ebook for borrowing. The title totally threw Kate off, and Betsy couched it by saying that it is considered one of the original GLBTQIA+ books created for kids in America. It is by NO means as brave as Heather Has Two Mommies, but it has its place in the culture. Show Notes: If you're interested in the GLBTQ chapter I refer to in this podcast, it's in the book Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature: http://wildthings.blaine.org/?page_id=2 And once again, ladies and gentlemen, The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington D.C. performing this book themselves!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuBA86Ohg94 For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/04/06/fuse-8-n-kate-oliver-button-is-a-sissy-by-tomie-depaola/
For WEEKS Kate has been bugging Betsy to find her a celebrity picture book. The catch was that Betsy was insisting that the book be considered a "classic". So she asked the listeners what the most classicky classic was and they managed to come up with today's book. Published in 1996 this definitely falls within the 20 year rule (a.k.a. don't read anything that's younger .... in theory) so they went for it. But Betsy had no idea Kate would take issue with tons of illustrations that she finds degrading to women. She has a point. This book, you will find, has not aged as well as you may hope. Show Notes: Tis true! This is the second Laura Cornell book on this podcast. Take a listen to the Heather Has Two Mommies episode, because Ms. Cornell illustrated it for the reissue: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2017/06/27/new-fuse-8-n-kate-episode-heather-has-two-mommies/ This is the article in Education and Career News with Ms. Curtis which explains why she started writing picture books in the first place: https://www.educationandcareernews.com/early-childhood-education/why-jamie-lee-curtis-is-passionate-about-childrens-literacy/ As listener Erica told us "This story from Minnesota Public Radio is about how jingle dancers have been dancing and praying for healing during the quarantines. The story includes some history of the jingle dance and some links to videos.": https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/03/17/every-step-you-take-is-prayer-as-coronavirus-spreads-women-lead-virtual-dance-for-healing And in case you missed it, here was Betsy's discussion with listener Carolyn Jeziorski, our official Expert Disaster Librarian: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/03/24/report-from-china-from-an-international-school-librarian-making-sense-of-school-closures/ For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/03/30/fuse-8-n-kate-tell-me-again-about-the-night-i-was-born-by-jamie-lee-curtis-ill-laura-cornell/
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